Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/667

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
MEXICO IN 1827.
647

were getting rather tired, several quails, and a number of ducks of various kinds, which were abundant in the rio, or arroyo, below the town; so that we ushered in the new year by a very sumptuous repast. The weather was so mild that we placed our table in the open air, under the porch of the inn, and sate there till a late hour in the evening, talking over past adventures, and future prospects, with Mr. Martin, whom I had first known in Sweden in 1816, and wondering, since chance had thrown us together in two such distant points, in what part of the world it would be our lot again to be brought into contact.

Jan. 2.—We left Tĕpātĭtlān at seven o'clock, and reached Zăpōtlān, or Zăpōtlănējŏ, at two. Distance twelve leagues.

Upon the "Mesa," or high Table-land, which extends as far as Cerro Gordo, I shot a number of birds called by the natives Gordillos, but resembling our woodcock in eye, plumage, and general appearance. They are nearly double the size, and of equal delicacy of flavour.

Zăpōtlănējŏ, at a distance, appears quite a mass of verdure: the situation is extremely sheltered to the North and East, and the supply of water abundant; but the descent from Zăcătēcăs, which must be considerable, had been so very gradual, that, notwithstanding the increasing mildness of the air, we were not prepared to find ourselves suddenly transported into Tierra Caliente, and surroimded by a vegeta-